The invention relates to an articulation for a toilet seat in accordance with the preamble of claim 1.
A like articulation for a toilet seat is, for example, known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,132. In this solution, the seat and the seat cover are mounted along a rotation axis, wherein the lowering movement of the seat and of the seat cover, respectively, may be controlled by a damping means including a spring-biased cam mechanism and a fluid damper.
The combination of spring-biased cam mechanism and fluid damper requires considerable expenditure in terms of device technology, so that the overall price of the toilet seat is quite considerably influenced by the articulation.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,009,568 an articulation for a toilet seat is disclosed wherein the seat and the seat cover are designed to each include separate rotation axes. Although by this separate design of the rotation axes a more uniform guidance of seat and seat cover is made possible, in this variant nevertheless considerable space is required for constructing the two rotation axes having an offset arrangement with the corresponding damping means.
WO 99/63875 A1 and WO 99/63874 A1 also disclose articulations for a toilet seat, wherein the seat and the seat cover are arranged on a common rotation axis. This rotation axis is formed by two shaft pins guiding the seat and the seat cover, which co-operate with a damping means having the form of spring members. These shaft pins are coupled via a connecting mechanism making it possible to detach the assembly from the ceramic body.
It is a drawback in the aforedescribed solutions that considerable expenditure in terms of device technology is necessary in order to form the rotation axis of the seat assembly.
In contrast, the invention is based on the objective of furnishing an articulation for a toilet seat which makes reliable dampening of the lowering movement of a seat or seat cover possible at minimum expenditure in terms of device technology.
This objective is attained through an articulation for a toilet seat having the features of claim 1.
In accordance with the invention, a rotation axis of a toilet seat assembly is formed by a damping means connected to the ceramic body-side gudgeons through an adapter member. The damping means is positively connected to the adapter member and received in a reception bore of the toilet seat assembly, wherein the damping means is positively connected either to the seat or to the seat cover of the WC-assembly, so that optionally the movement of the seat or of the seat cover is braked.
The concept of the invention differs from the above described solutions in that the rotation axes along which the toilet seat assembly may be pivoted are substantially formed by the damping means and the adapter member, in other words: the seat cover and/or the seat are mounted directly on these components, so that the expenditure in terms of device technology is considerably reduced in comparison with conventional solutions wherein rotation axis and damping means were formed by separate components.
The scope of claim 1 also encompasses solutions wherein the adapter member and the damping means are integrally formed as specially designed parts. It is, however, preferred to form the damping means of series-produced dampers as also utilized in other applications.
Axial securing of the adapter member or of the damping means is effected by means of an axial retainer, preferably inserted in the radial direction into a mounting link of the seat assembly, so that adapter member and/or damping means are secured in the axial direction with respect to the mounting link. This variant has the advantage that mounting and disassembling may be carried out with extreme simplicity by inserting and taking out the axial retainer.
In a preferred embodiment the axial retainer is formed by a spring clip which is inserted through the mounting link into an annual groove of the adapter member or of the damping means.
The damping means has a particularly compact design if it has the form of a rotation damper which, on the one hand, is in positive engagement with the seat cover or with the seat, and on the other hand is positively coupled to the adapter member via a suitable interlocking connection.
Manufacture of the seat assembly is particularly simple when the reception bore for damping means and adapter member has the form of a through bore.
Depending on whether the seat or the seat cover is to be braked, the reception bore is throughout executed with approximately the external diameter of the damping means or of the adapter member or as a stepped bore, in which a seat cover-side end portion is radially stepped back and provided with a fitting surface.
The adapter member and/or the gudgeons are preferably made of plastic or noble metal.
Further advantageous developments of the invention are the subject matters of the other subclaims.